This sophomore album from Sharon Corr, the follow-up to her 2010 solo debut Dream Of You, makes no attempt to reinvent the wheel. And why would it? Having enjoyed massive international success with her siblings in The Corrs, and more recently served her time as a mentor on The Voice Of Ireland, the fortysomething mother of two is unlikely to try to reinvent herself as an angst-ridden rock chick at this stage of her career.
Not that there’s no angst on The Same Sun, but the predominant emotion here is sadness. Produced by Mitchel Froom (Crowded House, Pearl Jam, Sheryl Crow) and mostly recorded in his L.A. studio, these 11 songs – many of them co-writes with Froom or Don Mescal – are largely slow, pop-tinged love ballads, reminiscent of Karen Carpenter or Dusty Springfield. Which is no bad thing.
The tempo is rarely driven, though the relatively fast ‘We Could Be Lovers’ seems the most likely radio hit: “We could be lovers/ If the timing was right/ We could take a moment/ Weave it into a night.”
The instrumentation is mostly light and delicate, and there’s little or no studio trickery, leaving Corr’s gorgeous voice at the centre of songs that have a real organic feel. Most touching of all is ‘Christmas Night’, written for her late mother, which closes the album: “Some days I do ok/ Some days I lose my way/ Tears keep falling/ That I just can’t fight/ Cuz I need you with me/ On this winter’s night.” Sharon delivers it beautifully.
In short, there’s much to admire here. Certainly, fans of The Corrs slower material will enjoy basking under The Same Sun.
OUT SEPTEMBER 22